Medical connectors are widely used for delivering fluid to a patient or for drawing fluid from a patient. Examples of delivered fluid include, but are not limited to, medication, intravenous fluid and enteral feeding fluid. Examples of fluids that are drawn from a patient include blood and bodily fluids.
The use of hypodermic needles has been gradually decreasing due to the risks of infection and cost considerations, among other things. Hypodermic needles are being replaced with needless connectors that use an actuator, instead of a needle. The needless connector can placed, for example, at one end of a catheter while the other end of the catheter is connected to a patient. The actuator can be inserted into an end of the needless connector.
The drawings referred to in this description should not be understood as being drawn to scale unless specifically noted.